Aston Villa dealt injury blow before Tottenham clash as Unai Emery explains Amadou Onana substitution

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·1 May 2026

Aston Villa dealt injury blow before Tottenham clash as Unai Emery explains Amadou Onana substitution

Villa midfielder lasted just 55 minutes of the Europa League semi-final clash on Thursday night

Key midfielder Amadou Onana was forced off during the Europa League semi-final first leg defeat to Nottingham Forest on Thursday and is now a doubt to face Spurs at Villa Park.

“In the first half he was telling us he was feeling something in his calf but in another leg,” Unai Emery explained afterwards. “I don’t know how he’s going to recover.

“Hopefully in a few days he can recover. But of course we must be careful with him as well.”

Onana made his return to the Villa side at the City Ground, having recovered from a knock that saw him miss the defeat to Fulham last weekend.

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With the second leg falling after the Spurs game, it is possible that the Belgium international is not risked on Sunday to give him more time to prove his fitness for the big European decider.

Amadou Onana is a doubt to face Tottenham this weekend

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Villa are currently fifth in the Premier League table and are on course to qualify for the Champions League, regardless of the outcome from their Europa League journey.

Emery’s side have an eight-point advantage over sixth-placed Brighton which means a return to Europe’s top table could be sealed as early as this weekend, depending on results elsewhere.

Spurs, meanwhile, travel to Villa Park in another must-win game in their battle for Premier League survival.

Tottenham won their first league match in 2026 against already-relegated Wolves last weekend, but the result was not enough to lift them out of the bottom three due to West Ham’s win over Everton.

As a result, Spurs start the weekend two points from safety but will face Villa already knowing how the Hammers got on 24 hours earlier away at Brentford.